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Michael Boateng
Michael Boateng became the 15th and final summer signing of the 2011 off-season by new Rovers manager Paul Buckle when he put pen to paper on 19 July 2011, 29 days before his 20th birthday. The Londoner was a Carshalton Athletic player when he joined Rovers on trial during the 2011–12 pre-season, and played in three of the club's friendly fixtures after having been recommended by former Carshalton 'Football Consultant' and ex-Rovers Director of Football Lennie Lawrence. His performances in the games and in training, coupled with a glowing character reference, was enough to persuade Buckle to sign him, and he went on to play in three more of the warm-up matches for the new season. Once the 2011–12 season was under way, the defender found himself out of contention for a first team place. The first time he was included in the first team squad was when he was an unused sub in a 1–1 draw with Watford in the League Cup on 23 August, before finally making his debut as a 76th-minute substitute in the 3–1 defeat to Wycombe Wanderers in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy on 6 September. Just over a month later, with no more senior football under his belt, he was sent on loan to Tonbridge Angels along with teammate Kayne McLaggon in order to gain some more first team experience. Following the end of his temporary stay in Kent he was immediately sent on loan to Conference South side Sutton United for the remainder of the season. He was released by manager Mark McGhee in the summer of 2012, having not made any league appearances for the club. Career After starting out playing schoolboy football with Crystal Palace, Michael spent two years as a scholar at Woking between 2008 and 2010. He joined Carshalton Athletic in 2010 and spent the 2010–11 season playing for them in the Isthmian League. He signed for Rovers in the summer of 2011 as part of manager Paul Buckle's 'development group' of young players. He was loaned out to Tonbridge Angels for a month starting in October 2011, along with teammate Kayne McLaggon, and after impressing manager Tommy Warrilow during the duo's temporary moves were both extended for a second month. A second loan move followed for Michael later in the season, this time to Sutton United, where he was a regular first team player for the second half of the season. After returning to Bristol he found himself one of seven players released in the summer of 2012. He spent a portion of pre-season training with Sutton while trying to earn a deal with a Football League side, but a contract was not forthcoming, resulting in him joining Bromley in October. He played just a single game for them, a 2–0 defeat at the hands of Welling United in the Conference South, before returning to Sutton United a month later. He signed a short-term deal with Conference National team Newport County in March 2013, and played three times in what turned out to be a promotion-winning season for them. Career stats Record against Rovers Michael has never played a competitive first team match against Bristol Rovers. Category:Players Category:Defenders Category:17 August Category:Players born in 1991 Category:Players who joined in 2011 Category:Crystal Palace Category:Woking Category:Carshalton Athletic Category:Tonbridge Angels Category:Sutton United Category:Bromley Category:Newport County